Press Releases

Houston, TX. (August 16, 2017) --- The Houston Museum of African American Culture, Holocaust Museum Houston, The Health Museum and ADSI/Renee Logans are pleased to present the Exclusive Houston Screenings of Olympic Pride, American Prejudice on Thursday, September 7 at the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is a feature length documentary, directed by acclaimedfilmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and narrated by award- winning actor Blair Underwood. The 2017 NAACP Image Awards nominated and 2017 Oscar-qualified film tells the story of 18 Afri-can Americans who defied Hitler and Jim Crow to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin..The athletes experienced things that they were not expecting – applause, warm welcomes, integrated Olympic villages and the respect of their competitors. They were world heroes but returned home to a short-lived glory. This story is triumphant but unheralded. It is a story of young Black men and women finding their place in Jim Crow America and is as relevant today as it was almost 80 years ago.

Writer/Director Deborah Riley Draper’s debut film Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolutionwas heralded by New York Times and Los Angeles Times film critics and premiered on Viacom’s Logo Channel after a successful festival run. She is currently developing a two feature films. The Schedule for the Exclusive Houston Screenings of Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is as follows:

ABOUT COFFEE BLUFF PICTURESCoffee Bluff Pictures is a film production company dedicated to enhancing culturally and socially conscious dialogue by creating and distributing high-quality films with beautifully complex and diverse characters and stories.. Recognized by fans and critics globally for its incredible story-telling and ability to find never-before-seen or heard voices, Coffee Bluff Pictures is changing the independent film landscape. For more information on Coffee Bluff Pictures, visit www.coffeebluffpictures.com.ABOUT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTUREThe mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery-driven learning. HMAAC is to be a museum for all people. HMAAC seeks to be a cultural portal through which people share and converge histories and contemporary experiences that acknowledge and expand the African American experience, and from such interactions come together to build a common future.ABOUT THE HEALTH MUSEUMThe Health Museum's mission is to foster wonder and curiosity about health, medical science and the human body. Each year, we serve thousands of families and school children through onsite and offsite programs focusing on life science and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. In 2017, The Smithsonian Institution announced an official partnership with The Health Museum, designating it as an Affiliate. The museum is the first to receive such recognition within the Houston Museum District.

ABOUT HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON

Holocaust Museum Houston, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1996 by Houston-area Holocaust Survivors, their descendants and members of the community, is accredited by The American Alliance of Museums.

The Museum is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors’ legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, we teach the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy. For more information, visit hmh.org.

The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is pleased to announce recognition at the Alliance of American Museums annual meeting under the Forces of Change Track as a case study on “How African American Museums Can Remain Relevant.”

Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is pleased to present the exhibition “Africa on my Mind: The Art of Malick Sidibe and Leslie Wayne”, featuring over 40 pieces from the renowned Sidibe’s collection of post-colonial African portraits as well as 13 of Wayne’s colorful cloths.

From April 28th to July 1st, visitors will be able to enjoy Sidibe’s iconic black and white portraits that vibrate with the energy that emerged off the cusp of Malian independence and the post-independence period of modernization in his homeland. In contrast to Sidibe’s work, Leslie Wayne’s colorful African influenced cloth rags will be on display. The work is made of layers of oil paint, allowing each piece to uniquely settle into multiple forms, with a varied approach to color, texture and design.

According to HMAAC CEO John Guess, Jr., “I cannot thank the Jack Shainman Gallery for its assistance inhelping HMAAC bring this work of the renowned Malick Sidibe and Leslie Wayne for viewing in Houston. I’mexcited that the museum will allow us to focus on Africa.”

Wayne will host an artist talk at HMAAC Saturday, April 28 th at 2pm to discuss her inspirations and give insight into her process. This artist talk coincides with the Houston Museum District Zone 2 experience, which HMAAC is proud to be a part of. Africa On My Mind will include a scholarly review of the African cultural scene as well as programming featuring African music and fashion. Sponsors of the exhibit include HEB, Houston First Corporation, the Nigerian American Multicultural Center and the Board of Directors of the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

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About Malick Sidibe

Sidibé was born in Mali in 1936, where he was based. His work has been exhibited extensively. Sidibé has work in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Getty Museum, California, the Brooklyn Museum, New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. He was awarded the International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008), the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award by the Board of La Biennale di Venezia (2007) when he was included in Think with the Senses Feel with the Mind, curated by Robert Storr at the 52nd Annual Venice Biennale, and the Hasselblad Award (2003).

About Leslie Wayne

Leslie Wayne received her BFA in sculpture from Parsons School of Design and her MFA in painting from University of California, Santa Barbara. Her works have been featured in solo exhibitions at a number of galleries internationally including Jack Shainman Gallery (New York, NY), Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art (Charleston, SC), Galerie Doris Wullkopf (Darmstadt, Germany), L.A. Louver Gallery (Venice, CA), Byron Cohen Gallery (Kansas City, MO), Haines Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Galeria Leyendecker (Santa Cruz de Tenerif, Spain), Galerie Bugdahn and Kaimer (Dusseldorf, Germany). Wayne has also exhibited pieces at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY) and the New Museum for Contemporary Art (New York, NY). She has received the Buhl Foundation Award for abstract photography and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation artist’s grant. The artist currently lives and works in New York.

ABOUT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

The mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery-driven learning. HMAAC is to be a museum for all people. While our focus is the African American experience, our story informs and includes not only people of color, but people of all colors. As a result, the stories and exhibitions that HMAAC will bring to Texas are about the indisputable fact that while our experience is a unique one, it has been impacted by and has impacted numerous races, genders and ethnicities.

December 8, 2016 (Houston, Texas) - The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is holding a community forum Thursday, December 15th, 2016 to continue its comprehensive community engagement initiatives. The forum, entitled “The State of Local African American Cultural Institutions” will focus on current challenges facing such institutions, projects to improve local partnerships and collaborations, and identification of resources to strengthen such organizations.

HMAAC CEO John Guess will be joined by Naomi Carrier of the Texas Center for African American Living History and Michelle Barnes of the Community Artists Collective, with the list expected to grow to include other cultural leaders. “This is a critical time for African American cultural institutions and our community,” according to Guess. Added Barnes, “We must take the initiative to focus attention on our cultural community.” “Together we win,” said Carrier.

HMAAC will use the occasion to release its white paper, A Cultural Plan for Houston’s African American Communities, intended to be the basis for community engagement with private and public funding sources. This event is free and open to the general public.

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ABOUT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

The mission of the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. HMAAC explores stories inspired by themes of opportunity, empowerment, creativity, and innovation and cultural interrelationships through the lens of the African American experience.

December 1, 2016 (Houston, Texas)- The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is proud to announce the dedication of its newest public art outreach project. A mural displayed on the wall of the Johnson Funeral Home at 5730 Calhoun, entitled ‘These Lives Matter’ was dedicated to the youth of the African American community Tuesday, November 29, 2016. The mural, which faces Griggs Road at Calhoun, has been made possible by a partnership between HMAAC and renowned artist and muralist Reginald Adams.

Artist Reginald Adams sees the mural as an important artistic statement about the value of life. “It brings a human angle to the Black Lives Matter movement by personifying the movement with images of a young girl and boy.” In addition, Adams added, “The mural is a statement of pride and empowerment that depicts our youth in a bold and positive way.”

For HMAAC’s John Guess Jr., the mural represents HMAAC’s dedication to expanding the museum’s impact beyond its museum district location. “This project is a continuing step of museum’s efforts in the community and a continued extension of HMAAC’s increasing transformative presence that has featured sponsorship of music, dance and theater throughout Houston.”

According to Johnson Funeral Home President Walter Johnson, “As a funeral home, we are excited to be able to present this message affirming life to our community, and thankful to the Houston Museum of African American Culture for sponsoring it.”

This mural is the first of a number of planned public art projects planned for the Houston Museum of African American Culture in the coming year.

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ABOUT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

The mission of the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. HMAAC explores stories inspired by themes of opportunity, empowerment, creativity, and innovation and cultural interrelationships through the lens of the African American experience.